The Price of Death
by OptimusChrist
Summary: Murder. Accident or no, it always creates trouble. What if a certain titan committed murder? What if it was the last titan you'd expect? NOT A HORROR STORY. No gory stuff, no blood. Look somewhere else for that. Check the category people.
1. It Begins

Important message for fans of my writing at the bottom.

Flames must be intelligent or reasonable, otherwise don't bother.

I'm not planning on any pairings or anything like that, just pre-existing relationships. I may put a small spin on them, but it will be small.

**

* * *

The Price Of Death  
Chapter 1: It Begins  
**

He had been dead a long time. His skin had long ago grown cold as the air inside the warehouse, and his muscles had grown stiff. There is no blood, no sign of a struggle. Only the dead body lying among the boxes and crates. There is nothing left of the real him, only his shell remains. I try and pull my eyes from the corpse, but it fascinates me. That was once a person, living, breathing, laughing.

The eyes. The eyes are the strangest part. There is nothing behind them, no emotion revealed. Hollow. Empty. There is no soul for them to act as the window to, there is nothing to them, they are just orbs in his face.

I can feel unease grow in my stomach as I stare at those dead orbs, but that discomfort is not enough to pull my gaze. Like I said, the corpse fascinates me.

The worst part of all of this, is that I am responsible. It's my fault that his heart no longer beats, that his lungs no longer fill with air.

Sirens in the distance. The police are coming. The realization of what will happen if I am found here forces me to turn my back on him. Closing my eyes I inhale deeply. I will need to be calm, cool, collected, for when I face the others. I can't let them know I did this.

Walking away from the dead body I hope to hear the faint sound of breathing, the rustling of clothes, anything. I strain my ears for some kind of noise, but only the sound of my footsteps and the pounding of my heart can be heard. I can _feel_ my heart beat in fear, pounding itself against my ribs, struggling to break free, as if it were making up for the dead man's heart.

I close the door to the warehouse, quietly so as not to draw attention. The cops still haven't shown up. Good. Letting a long, slow breath draw out, I find myself speaking aloud.

"You really did it this time Garfield."

Sighing again, I morph into an eagle, and take flight, to try and put the events of the night behind me. I suppose I'm still in shock, the impact not yet hitting me, after all, I killed a man tonight. And all I could do was stare.

* * *

Flying by the clock tower, I hear the gongs resounding in the calm stillness of the night air. _Gong. Gong. Gong._ What time is it? How late have I been out? _Gong. Gong. Gong._ I left at six. _Gong. Gong. Gong._ Nine? The team will be worried._ Gong. Gong. Gong._ Damn. Midnight. Everyone is asleep by now. Looking down at the streets I realize where I am. In this exact spot, far below the surface is Terra. It's late, they won't notice if I'm gone for a few more minutes. Circling low I prepare to touch down on the street, to go visit an old friend.

* * *

The match casts a faint glow all around her. Eerie shadows barely discernable from the inky blackness native here. Lighting all the candles I shake the match and toss it into the bucket of water with the others. The candles are scented, her favorite kind, her favorite smell. I do it as a kind of tribute, to show I haven't forgotten. That's why I come here, to prove she still has a place in my heart. 

"I did something tonight, something unforgivable."

She did something like that once. That's why I come here to talk to her, she's like a diary to me. She doesn't judge me based on what I say. I can confess my sins to her, as she once did to me.

"There was a robbery tonight, at a warehouse. Someone broke in and was stealing everything of value. I was the only one there, since the rest of the Titans were stopping another criminal. Robin had forced me to stay behind since I hurt myself in combat practice that morning. When I got there I was surprised to find him. He wasn't like the other criminals. He looked genuinely poor. His hair was long and tangled, and his face was dirty and tired looking. He looked like he really needed to be stealing. I felt bad for him at first, and thought about letting him take a few things, until he spotted me."

The memories are a little fuzzy, jumbled. Hard to make sense of them, make sure of what happens when. Each word I speak to her makes them come clearer though. Swallowing hard, I resume.

"As soon as he saw me he panicked. I could see the fear and desperation in his eyes. He just panicked, I guess that's why he did what he did. Before I knew what had happened, there was a lamp flying at my head. For such a messed up looking guy, he sure had a good arm."

I look up to her face, expecting some sort of reaction I guess. Just that same old expression on her face, the one she wore until the very end. I can feel something from her though, something probing me to go on, to continue my tale.

"So I defended myself, and charged him as a bear. The guy just flipped out then, and fell to his knees, sobbing. He must have thought he was going to…."

Swallowing hard I finish that sentence.

"…Die."

Another glance to her face, and that same feeling striking my heart, encouraging me to go on.

"So I stopped, and morphed back to being human. I was surprised, he was so different than the other criminals out there. So I tiptoed towards him, to see if he was okay, trying hard not to spook him. He blindsided me then, hit me in the face with a painting. It was a trick, he tricked me. I yelled something at him, I don't remember what. He had taken off at that point, and I started yelling for him to stop. Needless to say he didn't, so I chased him down as a cheetah. When I got close, the cheetah's instincts took over. Seeing his back to me, running for his life, something took over, something primal. I lost control. I pounced on him, intent upon catching him, of stopping him, and I did. I hit his back full force, and his whole body gave way. He just fell, and hit the ground with a sickening snap."

"When I heard that snap, it was like ice water on my mind. I couldn't think. All I could do was morph human again, and stand off him. He didn't move, he just lied there on the ground. His neck was at an unnatural angle, his eyes had gone blank, the life faded from them."

That was what happened, the only thing left to confess is that snap meant.

"He snapped his neck when he hit the ground. I killed a man Terra. I killed him."

Cold tears dripped down my face, flowing like rivers of sadness from my eyes. It was so much worse to admit. If she were alive, she might have understood. She killed Slade, if only for a little while. If she were alive though, then she most likely wouldn't have killed him.

"Oh god Terra, what have I done?"

My head falls into my hands, the tears streaming through my fingers uninhibited. The coarse material of the gloves stings my face, as does the salt of my tears.

"What do I do Terra? Do I tell them? Should I? What do I do? This has never happened before, I've always been able to control the animal's instincts, to keep my mind human. Why was this time different? Why couldn't I keep control?"

I slam my fist into the ground in anger, my own weakness disgusts me.

Silence. She holds no answers for me. My last question haunts me the most. Every time I morph, some part of the animal fights for control. It's like having two minds, each fighting to satisfy its own needs. For certain animals it's easy to fight, for others it's hard. Cats never gave me any trouble, how ironic they would be responsible for this.

_A Teen Titan. A Good Friend._ Those are the words written on her plaque. She is a good friend, she's always here for me. She has no choice in the matter.

Pulling myself together, I stand up and face her eye to eye. It's time to go back to the others, to go home.

"Thank you."

Inching my face close to hers I plant a kiss on her cheek.

"Thank you for listening."

My heart heavy, I turn my back and begin the long trek to the surface. Standing at the door, I say the same thing that I do every time I visit her.

"We will cure you, I'll make sure of it."

* * *

For those that enjoyed my other story, and are sick of me writing one shotters, then hooray for you. This will be a full story, but don't expect updates as fast as the other one, I have a bunch of AP tests coming up. If you're familiar with those, then you understand. If not, they're just huge tests, that are really, really hard. And I have four, over the course of two weeks in May. Updates will most likely go faster after that. 

If you read this, please do me a favor and review, it's really appreciated and can pretty much gurantee that you'll see another chapter.


	2. Morning Guilt

Ok then. Three reviews. Wow, talk about a low recepetion. Good feedback though, so I guess it all works out. Quality over quantity right?

**AngelOfMusic387**: First reviewer, way to go. This chapter goes to you, even thought it doesn't hit on anything you want. More BB development really. Next chapter will be getting into that, author's honor. I appreciate the compliment on the story. Thank you much.

**RenegadeMustang**: The mystery of the narrator was intentional. I did that in part to hook the reader, and in part it adds to the drama and mystery of the moment. It seems rather lame too, to think "I am (name)" to yourself, right? Very interesting ideas, although I wouldn't expect BB to go serial on us. Good to have a fan from the start. Hope you like this one too.

**Angelina Raven**: I must disagree with you on Terra. I don't consider her evil, merely misunderstood and insecure. She went to Slade out of feelings of betrayel, and performed her actions because of that betrayel, and of fear of Slade. In the end she proved herself a decent young woman by taking Slade down (albeit temporarily, at least until Trigon got involved), and sacrificing herself to save the city. Regardless of my views on her, I do not intend to revive her. In my opinion that is the highest sin a fanfic writer can perform. That merely reads that the author has no ideas, and must resort to reviving dead characters for plot twists. To me it implies a lack of skill in writing, because often it is rationalized poorly, using the cliche excuse of clones or something of that nature. No Terra will not be revived. I hold myself to a higher standard than that.

That's my two cents, here's the story in exchange.

**

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The Price Of Death**

**Chapter 2: Morning Guilt**

"We know Beastboy. We know what you did."

How could they know?

"You're going to pay for what you did."

No! It wasn't my fault! I didn't mean to kill him!

"It's your fault Beastboy."

The circle is growing smaller, the Titans getting closer. Each one utters some statement of hate and accusation. I fall to my knees, and grip my head in pain. Their voices echo in my mind, threatening to make it explode.

"Eye for an eye."

"Tooth for a tooth."

"Life for a life."

No… not now. Not so young. I have a life still! I don't want to die! Don't kill me!

"Time to repent you murderer."

Murderer…

Murderer…

No…I'm not a murderer…I'm not… believe me… please? Please?

* * *

Disgusting. I hate coffee. It tastes like crap, but it steadies my shaking hands. My eyes feel heavy, weighed down by the knowledge and guilt of the previous night's events. Picking up a spoon I stir some sugar into the coffee, slowly watching the swirls of dark and light mix and match until one is eliminated and only one remains to see the light of day. 

Taking a sip I wince, god this stuff is terrible. Who knows how old the coffee is, it's been in that cupboard since we moved in. The builders left it there, we think. No one likes coffee, but everyone's too lazy to throw it out, so it sat in there all this time. Terrible. Tastes like someone squeezed gym socks and made a drink from what dripped out.

Staring into the black liquid my thoughts drift back to the dream. The judging faces, each condemning me in their own way. A shudder tears its way down my spine, causing the coffee to shake in my hand. Some spills to the counter, and forms a pool. It is because of that dream- no. It is because of that _nightmare_ that I have this stupid coffee.

I remember the cold sweat pouring down my face and back when I woke up from that. I had never been so scared in my life. Not even being swallowed by the earth compares.

Sweat begins to form on my head as fear barges into my heart. No. Don't think about it Gar. Don't think about the dream, or what you did.

Standing up I head to the sink, to get a towel to clean up the mess I made. I look down at the spill and freeze, the towel falling from my hand.

It can't be. It just can't be. It looks like… like his face.

"No…."

Did I speak aloud? I don't know, all I know is that somehow I found my way back to my room, and that I'm now in the corner curled into a ball, moaning to myself as I rock back and forth, clutching my knees. Why won't it go away? Every waking minute since I spoke to her the incident has been on my mind. Leave me demons, I suffer enough without you weighing me down.

* * *

Right, do everyone a favor. DO NOT WASTE TIME TELLING ME IT WAS SHORT. I know. Obviously, right? 

Been a while since I worked on this, my AP tests are finally over. I just felt the need to get something out. I owe it to the three reviewers I guess.

Oh hey, here's a question for you readers. Why the bloody hell does everything I write start with the letter "T" ? Seriously, they all do. Kinda odd... (cue twilight zone music)

Let me know what you think, otherwise this may hit the scrap heap like so many other things.

If you read it, please review it. It does me some good to know I'm not wasting my time on something that barely a person cares about.

Optimus


	3. Wits and Lies

Oh wow. Wow. I mean it. This is by _no_ means sarcasm. One review for all of chapter 2. Wow. I feel like this is _totally_ a good use of my time. Yeah fucking right.

Sarcasm. God I love you.

**Ocelot The Revolver**: Way to go. Only reviewer. You must feel so special.

So yeah, I'm obviously rather bitter and uhappy right now. Why? Look in my profile. I'm posting short essays in there on some things I've been thinking about. This is one of those things. Check back there you 1-4 people who may/may not have read this. I'll be updating that at least once a week or so.

So here's the next installment in my waste of time activites.

**

* * *

The Price Of Death**

**Chapter 3: Wits and Lies  
**

I can't stay in this corner forever; I've already been here for too long. I've heard footsteps go by my door, they're looking for me. No one has come in yet; no one has even tried to speak to me. Most likely think I'm still recovering.

Footsteps again, heavy ones. Must be Cyborg. A light knock on the door sounds as his voice pierces the door,

"BB? You in there?"

"…"

Should I alert him to my presence?

"Yeah. I'm here."

"You ok? Haven't seen you all day. It's getting kind of late. Just want to check up on you."

"I'm fine."

Lies. Lies make everything better.

"Don't worry about coming out, you're still recovering from yesterday. Just relax, okay?"

"Right."

I am recovering from yesterday, but not from the incident that he speaks of. He thinks that I'm physically injured. My pain transcends the body.

"Alright, see ya around BB."

I don't bother to respond, I can hear the heavy clunk of his feet as they drift away, to head off to the next big thing that he has to take care of. Probably tell the team how I'm doing.

A heavy sigh escapes my lips; I've outwitted them for now. How long can I keep this up though?

* * *

"Beastboy, good to see you up and about, especially so early." 

Grunting a response at Robin I head for the stove, to try and prepare for my breakfast. My eyes are still heavy, they feel empty. Empty like his were.

Not even the warm fragrance of tofu cooking in the morning can lift my spirits; I'm too far sunk in the depths of despair. I only want to get out of here, before he figures out that something is wrong. I don't want them to know what I did. The dream told me what I fear most. The titans will turn on me as soon as they find out. They'll turn on me, just like all the others. Just like all the others I meet.

Brushing past Robin I head for my room, the gym, the roof, I don't know where. Robin hasn't said anything to signify that he noticed anything unusual. Good. I must be better at this façade than I thought. I just need to be alone, to figure out what I'm going to do. It's been two days since I did what I did. I need a plan; I need a way to keep this from them. I need to escape from this. I need to leave. I need to feel free.

I need a walk.

* * *

The crisp air of the morning fills my lungs and breathes life into me. The sun is barely risen, casting golden lights throughout the sky, illuminating the clouds into a kaleidoscope of beauty. Inhaling deeply I close my eyes, and feel the world around me. All is at peace now, the people still sleeping in their beds, the animals beginning their days, doing their business before the interruption of man's world. 

I feel the life of the world flooding into me as I walk through the park. I can hear the early morning chatter of birds in a tree off to my left, while ahead a squirrel dashes about collecting nuts.

It's so calm, so… so… wonderful. Words fail me as I stare at the world awakening before me. Never before had I noticed the delicate beauty of a tree leaf, or the endless charm of a bird's song. Even the cars of people beginning to hit the streets no longer seem the cold, drab, uniform boxes I once thought. Life has been breathed into anything and everything that I see.

A bench comes into view as I come around a corner in the path. Taking a seat on it I lean back and close my eyes, relaxing all my muscles. I haven't felt this good in days. The friendly morning sunshine hits my face as it breaks though the clouds. Its gentle warmth covers my body, deluding my thoughts, bringing fatigue to my eyes.

I'll just stay here for a few minutes, then I'll go back to the team.

* * *

Yawning I open my eyes again. Panic rips through my heart as I realize that I fell asleep. What time is it? Shielding my eyes I look up, the sun is almost halfway through the sky. Shit. 

The wind stings my eyes as I fly towards the tower, cursing myself the whole way.

* * *

"Hey BB! 'Bout time you showed your sorry face around here!" Cyborg laughs heartily as he pounds his palm onto my back, almost knocking me to the ground. 

"Yes, please tell us friend, where have you been?"

Starfire appears to be the only one obviously concerned. Robin is scowling, and Raven isn't even paying attention, reading a book on the couch of the common room.

"I fell asleep in the park, sorry guys."

"Well you missed morning practice, and the briefing on a case the police have asked for help with."

"What case?"

Robin lifts his arm behind him and pushes a button on the remote, never once breaking his gaze.

On the television the newswoman appeared, holding a stack of papers in her hand, looking professional. Pushing another button Robin brought the volume up so we could hear the woman.

"… Police still have no leads in the homicide case where a homeless man was found dead in a warehouse on the south side. Autopsy reports confirm that he died of a combination of severe malnutrition and blunt force causing the spinal cord to snap. Police have been combing the scene for the last two days but have found almost no evidence…"

The rest of the report was lost on me as my head spun. In my stupor of calm I had forgotten about the murder. Guilt began to wash over me again in waves, numbing my thoughts.

No! No time to be guilty, got to focus, got to keep cool, got to keep in control.

"That case."

Robin's words bring me back to the room, to the world of now.

Blinking rapidly I try to keep calm in my voice as I speak. "How are we helping?"

"_We_ are not helping. I am. You and the others are to resume normal obligations, but without me. I'll be working directly with the police, as I have the necessary…" He pauses for a moment, grasping in his mind for the best word to describe his relationship with Batman. "… Abilities."

"What about Cyborg? He has all the gadgets and all that, why not have him search?"

I don't want Robin investigating. He's too good. He'll find out, and he'll tell the others.

"If you had been here, you would have known why. Ask Cyborg later, I have work to do."

With that Robin took off to begin his investigation. Turning to Starfire I feel a look of confusion slip its way across my face.

"What's his deal? I was late, things happen. Big deal."

Raven chooses to answer my question, ignoring the fact that I was speaking to Starfire.

"It's you. You lack maturity, focus, concern, all the traits he has. Your lack of concern bothers him, troubles his soul. He envies your carefree attitude."

"Humph. Like that's true. Robin, jealous? Yeah, right."

"Think about it. You went for a walk in the park this morning, and fell asleep. Robin has been pacing back and forth, worrying about you, about this case, and about his ability to solve it. He's begun to obsess over it, like he did Slade. Like he does to everything. He has once again taking things far too seriously. And yet you were asleep, dreaming your little dreams, relaxing, doing nothing. You had no problems, no goals, no test to prove your worth. Just a nap on a sunny morning. Who has the better situation? Of course he's jealous."

Grunting a response at Raven I retreat back into the realm of my thoughts. There was very little evidence according to that woman, which is great. Even if there were some, it would be hard to go back. I don't remember leaving anything, tearing anything, it should be fine. I should be fine. Just in case though, I need to keep tabs on Robin, make sure he doesn't get close to the truth.

The game of wits has begun. And I'm going to need all the energy and effort I can muster to stand a chance. This'll be fun.

* * *

I got nothing for down here except the usual, "don't be a hooker, review" stuff. So yeah. Be cool, review. 

Not like anyone's going to read this ruddy story anyways...


	4. Sucking Up

**I  
AM  
SORRY**

Ok, that said. Why? I've been an ass in my authors notes. A total ass. That's just not ok. I apologize to all of you that read that.

I guess I'm just irritated because things in life aren't turning up so hot, and getting reviews, and feeling appreciated, that made things better. So not getting reviews, and still having life suck just got to me. I'm sorry.

Everyone that commented on this subject, you were right, I was being stupid. Forgive me.

I'd write a long winded essay on this subject, of how sorry I am, and how much of a doof I was, but it's late, and I'm tired. Maybe next chapter.

Do not review this, ok?

It's most likely going to go away, and be replaced with another chapter. If this is so, then expect more foot kissing on my part.

I doubt I'll keep this here, although it'd serve as a nice reminder to be nicer to you people.

So right, don't review this. Got something to say, e-mail me, address is in my profile. Don't use up your review for chapter 4.

Sorry once again, I really am.


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